Chaired by Ian Hull of Hull & Hull LLP, this panel will review the role of the board and the court under the HCCA.

Marshall Swadron of Swadron Associates will discuss the process that leads to the referral to the board, explain how the board deals with these issues on a practical level and discuss the process of adjudication.

The panel will also examine a series of cases dealing with instances where the board has ordered the removal of ventilators and the cessation of treatment because, in its view, best interests included a certain quality of life. In these cases it is sometimes said that, although the patient on life support had a living will directing her SDM to take heroic measures to preserve her life, she could not have envisioned the circumstances before her.

Craig Vander Zee a partner at Torkin Manes LLP, will discuss Justice Cullity’s decision in the Scardoni case to reverse one of the board’s decisions while Professor Albert H. Oosterhoff of Western University Faculty of Law will discuss Justice Hockin’s reasoning in the Grover case to give effect to a different decision.

These cases help demonstrate the courts’ role because they are two very similar fact scenarios with opposite results.

This blog is not intended to serve as a comprehensive treatment of the topic. It is not meant to be legal advice. Every case turns on its specific facts and it would be a mistake for the reader of this blog to conclude how it might impact on the reader’s case. Nothing replaces retaining a qualified, competent lawyer, well versed in this niche area of practice and getting some good legal advice.